Comcast, Netflix and Paramount Skydance are reportedly interested in acquiring the media giant.
Warner Bros. Discovery — The parent company of CNN and HBO Max is considering a sale following unsolicited interest in the company that marks the latest shakeup across legacy U.S. media.
The New York City-based media conglomerate announced the potential sale on Tuesday.
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
Several major media outlets have reportedly expressed interest. Netflix and Comcast are said to be interested parties, CNBC reported, citing anonymous sources familiar with the deal. This follows interest from Paramount Skydance.
Warner Bros. Discovery announced in June that it would split its Warner Bros. and Discovery Global divisions and separate its streaming business from its cable networks division. The company has doubled down on streaming in recent weeks. On Thursday, CNN announced a new subscription streaming service called CNN All Access. It’s been two years since CNN+, the short-lived streaming platform, closed its doors.
A sale or divestiture is one of the most significant restructuring moments in the media industry and could prompt other legacy media houses to reconsider their structure. Streaming is fundamentally reshaping the media industry, leaving traditional broadcasters with increased debt, increased content budgets, and audience fragmentation.
“This development could open up further talks with stakeholders. For Hollywood and other traditional media giants, all roads lead to consolidation,” said Paolo Pescatore, an analyst at PP Foresight.
The company is also considering alternative separation structures that would allow for a merger of Warner Bros. and a spinoff of Discovery Global.
ellison in the room
Warner Bros. Discovery has already rejected an initial bid from Paramount (now led by David Ellison, the son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, a key ally of US President Donald Trump), because the offer of about $20 per share was too low, Bloomberg News reported earlier this month.
Skydance’s rise immediately following its acquisition of Paramount speaks to the Ellison family’s voracious desire to dominate the global media landscape within a favorable U.S. regulatory regime.
Analysts believe David Ellison’s deep pockets (backed by his father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, the world’s second-richest person) give him the firepower to take risks.
Mr. Ellison’s close ties to U.S. President Donald Trump also could ease regulatory hurdles and avoid the scrutiny typically associated with such mergers, analysts said.
The decline of legacy media as terrestrial television cord-cuts and viewers and advertisers migrate to streaming platforms is forcing traditional media companies to rethink their business structures.
Mr. Ellison’s impending involvement raised concerns about how CNN could cover the White House.
Among the vocal critics is Dan Rather, who anchored the CBS Evening News for 24 years.
“The American people have to be concerned about a mega-billionaire controlling almost every major news organization,” Rather said in an interview on Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM show in September.
“It’s pretty hard to be optimistic about the Ellisons’ chances of buying CNN.”
Before the Paramount-Skydance merger, CBS settled a lawsuit alleging that the network’s longtime news magazine 60 Minutes deceptively edited an interview with then-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris for $16 million. Ahead of the merger, the company also announced the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, who days earlier called the settlement a “hefty bribe.”
Mr. Ellison then hired Bari Weiss, an opinion writer and founder of the commentary website Free Press. Mr. Weiss had no television experience but ended up leading a television broadcast network. Weiss has become popular among right-wing voices for his “anti-woke” commentary.
As a result, the company appointed former Trump administration candidate Kenneth Weinstein as CBS News’ ombudsman to investigate allegations of bias.
On Wall Street, Warner Bros. Discovery rose 10.8% following the announcement. Comcast rose 0.1% and Netflix rose 0.7%. Paramount Skydance, on the other hand, is trending lower, down 1.3% from its market open price as of 11:30 a.m. New York (3:30 GMT).
